Southern extremes

We all have favourite places in New Zealand. That annoyingly persistent Covid thing has given a lot of us time to think about the special places we have been and enjoyed – and will visit again. Contributor Kevin Isemonger gets around New Zealand quite a bit for his work. These are a few of his favourite places.

Out west

The West Coast of the South Island has one of the highest rainfalls in the world. That means heavy rain is not the drama it is reported to be. We stocked up in Hokitika with ‘refreshments’ and nibbles for tonight, bought some lunch and hit the road south in a rented Toyota Fortuner.

First stop was Lake Mahinapua. We pushed our way in through rain-soaked low hanging ferns in a living tunnel of ancient, bearded Podocarps out to the lake. That sticky mist you